Though one of the quintessential features of many blogs is the ability of readers to comment on the blog's content, there are many blogs where commenting is prohibited. One might ask, is a blog even a blog if it can't be commented on? Isn't the point of a blog to initiate discussion amongst readers? Or, perhaps more bluntly, should we be able to criticize opinions we disagree with? As a matter of fact, this is a sharply debated matter in the blogosphere.
Especially in popular, politicized blogs, there is a standard of banning comments from the page. (In this somewhat outdated blog, the poster discusses some of the reasons why right-wing blogs in particular are anxious about allowing comments.) Perhaps one of the larger issues with blog comments, aside from voicing opposition, is actually the voicing of support. For example, a right-wing blogger could write a post about easing up laws on gun control, and then BAM, next minute, comments from 20 users who support that person's views, but also want more lax gun laws in order to keep their local KKK branch in business. That might be a little extreme, but there are realistically a whole realm of supportive comments that can be potentially damaging to a politician's image if the opposition makes blanket assumptions about the whole group from one comment.
Another issue with comments is the general value the add to the blog. Though it might be a sign of enormous popularity to get 457 comments on your post about wine tasting, it's also pretty likely that 400 of them say, "that sounds like an awesome weekend d00d!" If you, yourself, are searching for valuable input about your experiences or opinions, comments are sometimes a frustration rather than a good critical analysis. For example, FIRST Robotics team 148, consistently has a terrifyingly efficient, competitive robot to take to annual competition. However, this means that supernerds online go CrAzY for early glimpses of this robotic beast, and then leave fun comments on the vidoes like, "-_-" Super insightful, right? Nowadays, 148 no longer allows random comments on their videos, because it doesn't further validate them, or give them any insight into how to improve themselves.
Overview
Though one of the quintessential features of many blogs is the ability of readers to comment on the blog's content, there are many blogs where commenting is prohibited. One might ask, is a blog even a blog if it can't be commented on? Isn't the point of a blog to initiate discussion amongst readers? Or, perhaps more bluntly, should we be able to criticize opinions we disagree with? As a matter of fact, this is a sharply debated matter in the blogosphere.
Especially in popular, politicized blogs, there is a standard of banning comments from the page. (In this somewhat outdated blog, the poster discusses some of the reasons why right-wing blogs in particular are anxious about allowing comments.) Perhaps one of the larger issues with blog comments, aside from voicing opposition, is actually the voicing of support. For example, a right-wing blogger could write a post about easing up laws on gun control, and then BAM, next minute, comments from 20 users who support that person's views, but also want more lax gun laws in order to keep their local KKK branch in business. That might be a little extreme, but there are realistically a whole realm of supportive comments that can be potentially damaging to a politician's image if the opposition makes blanket assumptions about the whole group from one comment.
Another issue with comments is the general value the add to the blog. Though it might be a sign of enormous popularity to get 457 comments on your post about wine tasting, it's also pretty likely that 400 of them say, "that sounds like an awesome weekend d00d!" If you, yourself, are searching for valuable input about your experiences or opinions, comments are sometimes a frustration rather than a good critical analysis. For example, FIRST Robotics team 148, consistently has a terrifyingly efficient, competitive robot to take to annual competition. However, this means that supernerds online go CrAzY for early glimpses of this robotic beast, and then leave fun comments on the vidoes like, "-_-" Super insightful, right? Nowadays, 148 no longer allows random comments on their videos, because it doesn't further validate them, or give them any insight into how to improve themselves.
History
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Opinion
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Future Trends?
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